Shall Tigers Dance?
by LozieDeanon
Summary: Kotetsu has been training three years for the night that all Lawton's Ballroom and Latin dance students dream of. As Kotetsu prepares for his big moment, the other heroes decide to investigate his strange behavior… K/B, Antonio/OC, deanon from the Tiger & Bunny Anon Meme.
1. Lesson Number One

An (old!) fill from the Tiger and Bunny Anon Meme. Prompt: _Through a series of circumstances, Kotetsu ends up taking ballroom and Latin dance lessons, and he gets really good. The other heroes get suspicious of him disappearing, and decide to investigate, bringing his secret to light. Also, Kotetsu/Barnaby + Dancing._

I took this prompt as a novice dancer myself, and after another year of experience, I've revamped chapter 1 and decided to deanon. Enjoy!

* * *

Above Antonio and Kotetsu's favorite Hero Bar, there hung a small, square sign for a place called "Lawton's," written in loopy green cursive letters. Kotetsu had wondered "Lawton's" was for a long time. Maybe a law firm? Another restaurant? Something else entirely? What was up there that belonged to Lawton? Sometimes when he looked up above the bar, he'd consider just verging a little to the right, taking the small door up to the second level and just _asking_, but there was alcohol straight ahead, and Antonio straight ahead, and sports and Hero TV late broadcasts straight ahead, so he ignored the mysterious sign and chose the bar, time and time again.

He wasn't sure why it started to bother him so much one wintery night. Blame it on a lull in conversation, or the television playing a stupid ad that he just couldn't listen to again, or how once he got to the fourth beer he started felt antsy instead of tipsy, but with a slam of his hand on the table, Kotetsu excused himself with some reason he didn't even bother to articulate and staggered out of the bar and to the little door. Tonight, he'd solve the mystery of Lawton's, like a super-awesome explorer detective-hero!

Behind the little door, Kotetsu squeezed into a hallway much narrower than he had imagined, with worn wooden stairs and a varnished handrail rotting from the inside. Gripping the artificially smooth wood tightly, Kotetsu took the stairs slowly, up to a tiny landing with a small white door, also bearing the same cursive-green sign for "Lawton's." He opened the door.

A smooth hardwood floor dominated the brightly lit space, with two walls of mirrors and another wall of chairs. The last wall had a combined reception-sales desk, made of glass cases filled with shoes: strappy high heels for women, and slick dress shoes for men. A few doors peppered the corners, showing glimpses of similar wooden-floored rooms. Some classical music with pronounced repetition poured through the hidden speakers as sets of couples danced with varying levels of success, an instructor calling out rhythm: "One, two, _three_-four! One, two, _three_-four!"

"Can I help you, sir?" the young, black-shirted woman at the desk asked.

"Yes!" Kotetsu sauntered over to the desk, and definitely did _not_ trip on anything. "What's Lawton's?"

"A dance studio."

"Really?"

"…Yes. That's why there are people dancing."

Kotetsu looked out at the dancers, then back at the girl. "What are they dancing?"

"Foxtrot."

"Foxes can trot?"

"Sir, I think you're actually searching for the bar downstai—"

"No, no, I was just there! I came up here to find out what Lawton's is," Kotetsu looked back at the dance floor, squinting a bit. "Don't you have to be a fox… to trot?"

"No. You don't."

They stood in silence for another minute, Kotetsu still puzzling over the meaning of foxtrot.

"It looks fancy," Kotetsu noted. "The dance."

"It's not that fancy. These are just some basic steps."

"But… why?

"Excuse me?"

"Why are they learning all this fancy dancy… fancy?" Kotetsu gestured vaguely with one hand. "I mean, what are they gonna do with it?"

The girl slowly smiled. "Ah, the common myth that men cling to. Ballroom dance is too _delicate_ and _girly_ for them, with absolutely no practical applications, so they might as well not try. I hear that all the time, and it's wrong."

"I was asking about foxy trotting, not ballrooms."

"Foxtrot is a ballroom dance. That's the kind of dance we teach here at Lawton's. Ballroom and Latin dance, social dancing, partner dancing."

"Partner?" Kotetsu scratched at his beard, absently pondering the word.

"You know what I think about men who dance?" the girl leaned a little further across the desk, gesturing with her finger for Kotetsu to lean in, too, as if she had a fantastic secret to share. Whispering, she said, "Men who dance are the strongest in the whole world."

"Really?" Kotetsu's eyes widened.

"Absolutely. Ballroom is the ultimate proof of power. You can move someone around a room any way you want, _and _not break her. Not only are you strong and in command, but you're not a slave to your own power. You decide how and when you use it. It builds confidence, agility, and strength. Men who dance ballroom… are heroes."

The magic word. She couldn't possibly know that she was speaking to an actual hero, but that sudden reminder of everyone who was disappointed in him—the look on Ben's face when he dropped to fifth place, one from the bottom, the pessimistic articles starting to circulate, "Maybe Wild Tiger just isn't the hero he used to be," and Kaede calling after a Hero TV broadcast just to tell him what a loser Wild Tiger was—all that, coupled with a promise of a way to bring back what he lost…

"When are classes?" Kotetsu said.

Still smiling, the girl slid a slip of paper across the counter. "Write down your number. I'll call you later, when you're sober."

* * *

Of all the things Kotetsu had ever done while drunk, giving his name and number to a dance studio wasn't the worst thing, not by a long shot. He remembered most of the conversation come morning, too, and what he had forgotten came flooding back when the girl—Tanya, she gave her name this time—from the desk called, and after a quick refresher on her sales pitch, she entered him into a beginners class for working adults, meeting once a week late at night, even later than Hero TV prime time.

But, the instant he walked into class, Kotetsu regretted his decision, 'confidence, agility, and strength' be damned.

First thing, the instructor, a middle-aged dancer-like woman named Natalie, separated the dancers into 'leads' and 'follows,' which translated into 'men' and 'women.' Kotetsu shuffled over to the men's side, and realized that most of the males looked in the midst of mid-life crises: hair thinning, shoulders hunched, with nervous, seeking eyes, and since they couldn't afford a sports car, they fell back on old stories of Prince Charming who could sweep a beautiful princess off her feet in the span of a single night just because he could dance. Kotetsu's skin crawled as he joined the ranks of sorrowful salarymen, struggling to convince himself, _I'm not like them. I'm still worth something. Right?_

Looking back at the women's side, he realized they weren't much better. First off, they outnumbered the men at least two to one. They seemed divided into three types: The majority of them looked a lot like the men, aged thirty to forty and scrutinizing the lineup of men for potential late-bloomer boyfriends. The second type, also starting to age, were very clearly wives attending with their husbands, because they had their eyes fixed on an individual man on the opposite side of the room, almost trying to catch their spouses starting at other women. Then, the smallest type, with only three or four girls, consisted of surprisingly young women, barely in their twenties, with lithe dancer bodies in leotards who stoically stared at the instructor, clearly there to _learn_, not socialize. But wasn't this supposed to be a lesson in _social_ dancing? How could they be part of a pair if they acted like the other partner didn't matter?

"All right!" Natalie clapped for attention. "Now that you've been separated into leads and follows, it's time for lesson number one: the frame."

Kotetsu blinked. Frame? Like a picture? What did that have to do with dancing?

Natalie immediately set to answering Kotetsu's unspoken question: "The frame is the way that lead and follows communicate with each other. Both partners must have strong frames in order to communicate effectively, and dance _together_. For leads, this is an exercise in thinking, planning ahead, and staying forceful, but never harming your partner. For follows, this is an exercise in _absolute_ trust. Maintain your frame and go where you are moved, and trust the lead knows what he is doing."

Natalie stood perfectly straight and spread her arms, elbows gently bent so that her hands hovered about the level of her belly button. "We'll begin learning the frame in this position: double hand-hold. Several Latin dances use this frame. You'll start practicing this frame, so you can get the proper feeling of dancing. Never let your arms extend fully, and never let your elbows pass behind your body."

She snapped her fingers and pointed at a man two down from Kotetsu. "A volunteer!" she ordered. Though the man looked as if he'd rather melt into the floor than volunteer, he took two hesitant steps forward into the center of the room. Natalie molded his arms into a frame and took his hands.

"_Both_ partners must be strong," she said. "If a follow has a weak frame, then she cannot be led."

Natalie indicated for the man to step forward, pushing against her hands with his. The instructor's elbows passed behind her body, and she stood absolutely still, like streetlight stuck in the ground. Her volunteer almost ran into her.

"Then, if a lead has a weak frame, he cannot direct the follow." Natalie switched their handhold around, and walked toward the man, presumably 'leading.' But once again, her jelly-elbows fell behind her body, and she bumped into the man's front. He tried to apologize, but she just waved him away, allowing him to retreat back to the pack of men.

"In these beginner lessons, you can probably survive without a strong frame. The steps are simple, easy to read, there's very little variety. But these fundamentals are crucial—_crucial!_—if you want to be _real_ dancers and not soulless _robots_."

With her opinion of dancers who failed to master the frame explicitly clear, Natalie ordered the assembled students to take a frame position, then started circling the room, testing each person's frame and critiquing it, usually telling student "stronger." Kotetsu experimentally took the frame Natalie had demonstrated, broad-shouldered, straight-backed, arms open. It surprised his how it felt so much like a push-up or bench press frame, rigid but prepared to move.

It took _ages_ for Natalie to get to Kotetsu, but he poured all his hero-strength into that pose, everything short of using his. She pushed on his shoulders, upper arms, and wrists, and found the whole frame absolutely immobile.

"Good," Natalie said, and she moved right on to the next student. Kotetsu looked after her, a little put out. Just good? Even in his secret identity, Kotetsu had a physique the envy of Olympians! He spent hours each day in the gym, crafting a body perfectly honed for crime-fighting, and all Natalie had to say about him was 'good?' So much for being appreciated here…

Once she finished her rounds, Natalie clapped for attention again.

"Now! Follows, pick a lead. First come, first serve. If you don't get a lead, stand between a couple. We'll rotate you in later. Go, go! It doesn't matter who!"

The ladies skipped forward, the married Type Two women picking their husbands and leaving the rest of the class to comb through the leftovers. Kotetsu found himself chosen by a mousy-looking Type One woman with thick glasses. She waved at him with her fingers, and Kotetsu waved back.

"I'm Kotetsu," he said, trying to strike up conversation.

"Hi," she squeaked, and didn't give her name. Kotetsu chewed the inside of his cheek and scratched at his beard, waiting as Natalie struggled to iron out the clumps in the rotation: sliding single follows in between couples, spreading people scrunched at the end of the dance floor, and matching leads that somehow got passed over during the feeding frenzy. Kotetsu and his follow stood in silence, and Kotetsu wondered, _Is dancing supposed to be this awkward?_

"For this exercise, you'll practice communicating with the frame," Natalie called out at last. "Leads, direct your follows, and follows, be directed. For the handhold, leads, put your hands as if you were reading a book. Follows, imitate kitten paws. Your fingers will fit into your lead's hands, where his book would be. Now, take hands!"

The mouse-woman enthusiastically offered her hands, but too close for a proper frame. She just latched onto the "kitten" part and did cutesy little cat paws. Much less eagerly, Kotetsu took her hands and spread them further apart as he took his frame. She mumbled and approximate "thanks," and Kotetsu nodded.

"Now, the lead will walk forward and backward at random, keeping his frame strong. If the follow has a strong frame, this should be nearly _effortless_. Now, go!"

Shocked, Kotetsu hesitated for a second, but then took a step forward. His follow didn't seem to notice Kotetsu's hands pressing on hers until it was almost too late, and though he avoided her feet, she stumbled back awkwardly, shoes clicking harshly on the floor.

"Sorry," Kotetsu muttered.

"It's okay," she whimpered.

The exercise proved excruciatingly uncomfortable, Kotetsu trying to come up with a random pattern of forward and back steps, while each change in direction jerked his follow around. Even with the excuse of their first day, Kotetsu hated it, and he almost sighed with relief when Natalie called out, "Rotate!"

Maybe it was just that woman. She didn't understand, or maybe lacked the talent, whatever it was, probably the next woman would be better. Unfortunately, that was just wishful thinking. Kotetsu's second follow, another Type One blonde with a puffy hairstyle that reeked of styling products, proved equally inept and a lot gigglier, almost shrieking with laughter whenever she stumbled as if she could laugh off the mistake. It just made Kotetsu's ears hurt, and he couldn't wait to pass her on, too. The third woman was a Type Two wife, irked that apparently this class didn't mean dancing all night with her husband, who rebelliously dragged her heels through the whole drill.

This was a bad idea. All of it. Kotetsu didn't feel strong, or in control, or anything that had been promised to him when signing up for this class. He'd rather be anywhere else—at home, or drinking with Antonio, or… at home… _Maybe I am like the rest of these men, old and washed-up._

"Stop!" Natalie called suddenly. "Everyone, stop. Split back up, leads, follows."

Kotetsu wandered away with the cloud of men, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You come with me," Natalie ordered, pulling Kotetsu away from the leads and depositing him at the front of the class. Then, Natalie pulled a young woman out of the clump of follows—an aloof Type Three dancer in a leotard and leggings with dark brown hair.

"I'm Molly," she said boldly, sticking her hand out for Kotetsu to shake.

"Kotetsu," he said, a little bewildered, accepting her handshake—one firm pump up and down, before she dropped his hand.

"Well," Natalie began. "Since you're all having such difficulty with the frame, these two volunteers, who I've seen doing well at this drill, will _demonstrate_. You've all heard the phrase that it takes two to tango? It takes two to dance _every single social dance_. Both the follow and the lead must work equally to maintain the frame!"

Natalie turned to Kotetsu and Molly and clapped her hands. "Go!" she told them.

Kotetsu, still trying to reconcile Natalie's harsh tone with her words, looked to his new partner, Molly, and took her hands. She adjusted their hand-hold a bit into a better book hold-kitten paws, but then did absolutely nothing, waiting for Kotetsu's move. Already, he could feel she had strength in her arms, unlike his previous partners.

He took two steps forward. Molly backed up. When he switched directions and took three steps back, she followed the change seamlessly. No matter what Kotetsu did, forward, backward, in whatever random pattern his brain could imagine, Molly moved without a single hitch or stumble. And somehow, with the tension running down his arms and into Molly's hands, Kotetsu didn't stumble, either.

_Confidence, agility, strength…_ A smile unconsciously crept onto his face. _I think I see that now!_

"Stop!" Natalie called, though Kotetsu didn't want to. Finally enjoying himself now that the two halves of the partnership were equal, Kotetsu kept leading the dance for another few steps, until Natalie said again, "Stop, stop!" The lecture that Natalie delivered to the class went in one ear and out the other as Kotetsu stared at his hands, remembering the dance. Such an easy motion, but still physically draining, that connection with another person… Fantastic.

They spent the entire class on that exercise and one variation, where they switched from hand-hold to the actual ballroom frame—Kotetsu's right hand on his partner's upper back while his left hand held hers to the side. Little changed for the girls who were already un-leadable, but not all of them were atrocious, and a few actually improved throughout the night.

At the end of the lesson, the girl he had demonstrated the frame with, Molly, approached him and put her hand on her hip.

"Is this your first time dancing?" she asked.

"Yeah," Kotetsu nodded.

"Huh. I wouldn't have guessed."

"I work out a lot," Kotetsu said. "Dancing has a lot in common with strength. Who knew?"

Molly nodded curtly.

"Is this your first time dancing, too?"

"First time coming to class. My boyfriend is an Intermediate. He's tutored me a little." She switched her hand to the other hip. "You're coming back next week, right?"

"R-Right," Kotetsu answered, partly because he didn't know how to say no to such a severe person.

But the weird thing was, he meant it, too. He wanted to come back. Even in such a small way, getting picked to lead a demonstration, feeling that connection with another person, thinking that maybe, just maybe, he still had value in a world that kept changing on him, this class gave him hope.

The world continued to change—Hero TV gained a new executive producer, Titan Industries traded Storm Scream for a teen idol singer, Odysseus Communication muscled into the Hero scene with a tyke from China, TopMag got bought out and he gained an arrogant prettyboy of a partner (who he eventually learned to like)—but Kotetsu always returned to Lawton's Dance Studio, again and again, for three and a half years of lessons. Three and a half years of preparation for one _super-important_ night: the night that every Lawton's student dreams of. The night that all of their hard work pays off.


	2. On the Prowl

Antonio finished his last set of bench presses, hanging the weights back on the rack and grabbing a sweat towel. Wiping off his forehead, he walked over to the benches, and noticed Kotetsu already packing up his gym bag.

"Leaving already?" he asked.

"Yeah, I gotta go," Kotetsu said, tossing his own towel and water bottle in the bag.

"That's a pretty light workout."

"I get my training in the field!" Kotetsu smirked at Antonio. "I can make it up tomorrow, anyway."

"Speaking of making things up, when are you finally going to be free to go drinking? You've been busy for three straight weeks."

"Soon, buddy! I promise!"

"What's taking up all this time, anyway? I barely see you anymore."

"You're seeing me now, right?"

Antonio furrowed his brow at Kotetsu's dodging. "You've just been really weird lately."

"How about this, we'll go out for drinks tomorrow," Kotetsu flung his bag over his shoulder. "It's just, I gotta go, later!"

With that, he ducked out of the training room, leaving behind a rather stunned friend.

"Weird," Antonio muttered. Almost _too_ weird. He and Kotetsu had a pretty well-synched routine by now, taking into account mornings they couldn't afford to be hung over for, nights when criminals attacked more often, and even the evenings Kotetsu called Kaede. It didn't amount to that much time, and Antonio knew he liked having at least a little time to himself, but he valued hanging out with Kotetsu, too.

Yes, disrupting this kind of schedule definitely qualified as _weird_. Weirdness that might have a reason.

Antonio glanced around at the other heroes in the gym, seeking out the other person most likely to know if something was amiss in Kotetsu's life. He soon spotted Barnaby at the rowing machine, so he left his towel on the bench and approached.

"Hey," Antonio started. "Have you noticed anything weird with Tiger lately?"

"Weirder than usual?" Barnaby pulled the bar nearly toward his chest, let it go, and pulled again. Even with a vastly improved relationship after the Jake incident, Barnaby still liked nagging at his partner's faults.

"He's been busy for three weeks straight," Antonio said. "Do you know anything about that?"

Barnaby finished his repetitions and stood. "Well, he has responded to calls as usual, but he usually arrives late and leaves as early as possible, as if he has some other obligation."

Antonio suppressed a smirk. _Knew it_. "That's definitely weird."

"And, now that you mention it," Barnaby rested a hand on his chin, putting together some other thought. "He has a habit of humming at his desk."

"Yeah?"

"In the last few weeks, I've recognized some of the songs. Like selections from _Der Rosenkavalier_."

"Gesundheit."

Barnaby sighed. "It's an opera by Richard Strauss, a German romantic composer from the early twentieth century. Kotetsu was humming the waltzes. I don't mind the music, but compared to his usual tastes, it seems a bit… refined."

"I'll say," Antonio agreed. "He's never been into classical music before"

"Hey, are you guys talking about Tiger?" Pao Lin popped up by Antonio's elbow.

Though startled by the kung-fu master's sudden appearance, Antonio asked, "Have you noticed anything strange?"

She nodded. "Last week, I was following him to the elevators, and he was walking in weird patterns. Like he kept stepping to the right and holding his arms out in front of him."

"Arms in front? Like a zombie?"

"No, more like this," Pao Lin held up her arms to demonstrate, right arm bent as if carrying something, left arm out to the side. "It looked weird!"

"And there wasn't anything he was trying to avoid on the floor?" Barnaby checked.

"No, everything was clean."

"Humming and weird walking," Antonio said. "This has to add up somehow."

The heroes gradually gathered and pooled their observations, discussing Kotetsu's recent odd behavior. Nathan confirmed seeing strange walks, and Keith had seen him twirl a few times. Karina recognized tunes a shade too classical for Kotetsu's style, and they all dated the mannerisms back to an unknown event three weeks ago. But Ivan proposed the first unifying theory.

"I think he has a girlfriend," he said.

The shock reverberated through the heroes: Nathan and Karian gasped, Keith's eyebrows shot up into his hair while Pao Lin's jaw dropped. Barnaby just stared.

"What makes you say that?" Antonio asked.

"It was about a week ago," Ivan said. "I left training one night, and I saw him meet up with a woman. They seemed really close."

"You're kidding!" Karina cried. "Please tell me you're kidding!"

"They definitely knew each other," Ivan said. "And she was dressed nicely, too, with a fancy bun in her hair. I think it was a date."

"Oh, good detective work, you little ninja~!" Nathan cheered. "Now, how are we going to find out more about this mysterious girlfriend?"

"We don't know if she's Tiger's girlfriend," Antonio reminded him.

"Then we'll find out about that, too!" Nathan just grinned. "We need to find answers, if it's the last thing we do!"

"Wait, can't we just ask Tiger about it the next time we see him?" Pao Lin asked.

"Spend a whole night lying awake, dying for answers? I'm _curious_!" Nathan cut straight to the chase. "And wouldn't a little bit of detective work be fun, hm~? Learning about these matters of love?"

"I'm in," Karina said. "We have to get to the bottom of this."

"Guys, this is too much," Antonio said. "Tiger can handle himself. We shouldn't snoop."

"I'd like to participate."

The heroes turned to Barnaby, surprised by his quiet tone. "You would?" Nathan checked.

Staring off to the side, Barnaby added, "I'm… a little worried about him."

"If Tiger's partner is worried, we should go after him," Pao Lin decided. "Just to make sure!"

"I agree," Ivan nodded.

"Five are in favor," Nathan wiggled five fingers. "So, Sky High, Bison: are you in or out?"

"I'm in!" Keith gave Nathan a thumbs-up. "This sounds like fun!"

Antonio sighed. "Someone needs to keep you all in line. I guess I'm in, too."

"Wonderful~!" Nathan clapped his hands together happily. "All right! Let's go find out what's bothering our dear Wild Tiger!"

The enthusiastic ones—Karina, Keith, Pao Lin—cheered and followed Nathan out the door, with Antonio and Ivan a little behind them. Barnaby spent a minute longer in the gym, staring at his shoes.

_Kotetsu… are you trying to keep something from us? From me?_

* * *

"Tiger is on the prowl, repeat, Tiger on the prowl. Over."

Barnaby closed his eyes and took one deep, calming breath, willing away his exasperation. He already regretted approving of this investigation. What he had thought would be some basic research and detective work turned into a full-scale black ops mission, complete with an unauthorized secret channel on their call bands, a stakeout of Kotetsu's home, and two cars prepared to tail Kotetsu (Nathan driving a black sports car with Antonio and little Pao Lin crammed in the back, and Keith driving his blue minivan with Barnaby, Karina, and a seat reserved for Ivan). Everyone had gone way over the top, just like they had for Barnaby's ill-fated birthday surprise. And at this point, all Barnaby could do was sit back and let them drag him along.

"We read you, Origami!" Keith responded, very much enjoying this game of spies. "Anything to report, over?"

"He's... wearing a tuxedo, over."

"Really?" Karina pressed the wide end of a set of binoculars against the back seat windows of Keith's minivan. "Tiger rented a tuxedo for tonight?"

"Wait, he's turning around," Ivan said. "He's got _tails._"

"Tiger has a tail?" Pao Lin asked from the other car.

"Coattails, honey," Nathan explained. "This is quite a night Tiger has planned... It would have been a shame to miss it~."

A shame indeed. In spite of his irritation, Barnaby wanted to know what was going on in Kotetsu's life just as badly as Nathan did. The idea that he might have a girlfriend, someone he would wear a tuxedo with tails for, someone he would hum Strauss for, someone he walked in crazy circles for...

This little crush on Kotetsu was nothing new. Since Jake's defeat, Barnaby and Kotetsu had a much more relaxed relationship, comfortable and happy, and before Barnaby even knew what was happening, his heart started pounding at odd times, and he'd catch himself staring, and he began to envision what it would feel like to hold Kotetsu's hand, to embrace him, to kiss him. Even with no previous experience with romance, Barnaby wasn't the sort of idiot who couldn't recognize when he he had feelings for someone. But, this "little crush" kept pushing Barnaby's limits of appropriate behavior, driving him to cross lines and only growing as a result. Accepting more and more invitations out, sitting and walking closer than strictly necessary, watching him out of the corner of his eye…

And now, this. If not for the presence of his fellow heroes, Barnaby would be officially stalking his partner. Who was he kidding, this _already_ counted as stalking, other heroes or not.

"Tiger-san's back!" Ivan hissed through the communicator. "He's got a bouquet of flowers!"

"WHAT?" at least five different voices cried. Barnaby's was one of them.

"What kind?" Keith asked.

"They're, uh, pink? I can't get a good look, kind of frilly, I guess?"

"Roses?" Karina exclaimed.

"Maybe," Ivan said. "He's in his car! He's leaving!"

"I see him," Nathan turned on his car, and a pair of headlights a few yards down the street lit up. "Ready. Sky High, once you've got Origami, follow my car, not Tiger's, okay~?"

"Leave it to me!" Keith turned the key as well, the minivan rumbling to life.

Barnaby watched Kotetsu's SUV pull out into the street. "Dragon Kid, do you know the symbolic meaning of pink roses?"

"Pink roses," the Chinese girl said. "Red roses are for love, so pink roses are for light love. Affection, basically."

Barnaby clenched his jaw. _Kotetsu can't possibly be giving flowers to a woman, could he?_

Once the SUV disappeared, and Nathan's car passed, a curbside garbage can suddenly glowed blue and transformed into Ivan's familiar shape. Sprinting across the street, he leapt into Keith's van, and the final vehicle in the caravan started off after Nathan and their quarry.

"How serious is he?" Karina wondered aloud. "Super-formal clothes, but pink roses. Do you think they just met?"

"I thought they were more familiar with each other than that, but the relationship might be new," Ivan speculated. "If Tiger-san has a friendship to protect, he can't come on too strong."

"But he'd definitely pick something informal if he's looking to preserve a friendship," Antonio said from the other car. "His first dates with his wife were Hero TV fan meetings. They were obviously dates, but they could at least pretend they were going as friends."

"Maybe this is the first date where they stop going as friends?" Karina asked.

"But where could they possibly be going?" Nathan interjected. "Tiger _never_ dresses so well, not even for Hero TV parties!"

"Everyone," Barnaby cut in. "Whatever is or is not happening, we will find the answer tonight. Please stop worrying so much."

"But what if he's—"

"Stop it," Barnaby cut Karina off. "I know quite well, as I'm sure we all do, that it's absolutely pointless to try and predict Kotetsu's actions or reasons in advance. We can only draw conclusions once we've gathered all the evidence possible. We don't even know where they're going."

"A gala?" Karina guessed.

"A dedication?" Ivan added.

"An opera?" Nathan continued.

"That's just more speculation," Barnaby told them, but he frowned all the same. _I like the opera. And Kotetsu knows that. Would he have gone with me if I just asked? Or is that something he reserves for a date? Would he consider it a date if I asked him?_

"Don't worry, Mr. Barnaby," Keith picked up on his unease and matched it with a glittering smile. "We will find the truth!"

"…Thank you."

They drove along the highway for a while, carefully tailing at a distance the green SUV, which pulled off at a residential district. A row of condos, similar to Kotetsu's, but built in a different architectural style, stretched down the street. Nathan parallel-parked as soon as he could, then Kotetsu parked outside of a certain townhouse, while Keith drove for a few more car lengths more and parked nearby. Barnaby had a pretty decent view of the house Kotetsu had chosen to approach. He saw plants in the downstairs window, healthy and well-cared for.

Kotetsu was, indeed, wearing a coat with tails, and carrying a bouquet of flowers, stems facing Keith's minivan and obscuring the message-carrying petals. Kotetsu rang the doorbell and waited, brushing his shoes on the mat distractedly.

"Can you get closer, Origami?" Karina asked.

"If I get out, he'll spot us," Ivan explained.

"Can you turn into animals? Like a bird?"

"I don't know! I didn't know I could turn into objects until tonight!"

"Then how about a random person?"

"A person has to keep moving, or else he's suspicious!"

"Quiet," Barnaby said, still watching the doorway intently. Kotetsu rang again, still waiting, until the door opened. There stood a very pretty brunette, dressed as formally as Kotetsu in a sleek red sleeveless gown with a long slit up the right leg. Kotetsu offered her the flowers, and Barnaby read surprise and a 'you shouldn't have' on her lips. She took the flowers and hugged Kotetsu—hugged him!—before going back inside. Kotetsu followed.

"Roses for a lady~!" Nathan crooned delightedly. "I don't think we can deny it any longer, Handsome, there is something _magical_ happening right now!"

"Origami, is that the same woman you saw Mr. Wild with earlier?" Keith asked.

"Yeah, that's her."

"How can he have a girlfriend with none of us knowing about it?" Karina cried.

"The same way he had a daughter none of you knew about," Antonio said. "If it's not relevant to our hero work, he doesn't talk about it. It's just the way he is."

"But we're supposed to be friends, right?"

"We're rivals, technically," Barnaby continued to stare at the front door, the space Kotetsu and the mysterious girlfriend had occupied just a few minutes before. He and Kotetsu weren't meant to be rivals. Having the same sponsor company, earning more points than each other didn't mean anything. And Kotetsu didn't even care about the points, even if he and Barnaby had been competing against each other rather than collaboratively. That was just the kind of hero Kotetsu was. His whole view of rivals and friends made no sense...

Before Barnaby's mind could wander too much further, the door opened again. Kotetsu and the woman emerged, a large messenger bag slung across her body, both laughing at something that had occurred inside as they descended the steps to the street.

"Quick! Someone look and see if he opens the car door for her!" Nathan ordered.

"We don't have a good view!" Keith reported, trying to crane his neck over the cars between his minivan and Kotetsu's SUV.

"Neither do we!" Pao Lin added.

"Blue Rose, the binoculars!" Barnaby reached his hand toward the back seat. The heroes fumbled to put them in Barnaby's hands, and by the time he had the correct end affixed to his eyeglasses, the SUV had already pulled out into the street.

"Too late," he said sadly, handing the binoculars back.

"Oh, shucks~! That would have been another crucial piece of evidence!" Nathan moaned.

"We have to go!" Ivan reminded them. "We can still find out why they're dressed so formally!"

"That's right!" Keith pulled the car out of its parking space and set out in pursuit of Tiger. "If we find out where they're going, it'll help us know how serious they are!"

"Hit that highway!" Karina suddenly burst into the front cabin of Keith's minivan, pointing her finger straight ahead between Barnaby and Keith.

"Hey!" Keith slammed on the brakes. "Put your seat belt on, right now!"

Karina blinked at the hero, before finally realizing that he was addressing her. "Oh, um… Sorry," She sat back in her seat. Keith didn't let go of the brake until he heard the _click._

"What's that about, Sky High-san?" Ivan asked. "The car was barely moving."

"Serious injuries can occur at surprisingly low speeds!" Keith announced, surprisingly sincere for such a pre-planned response.

"Ah, I remember," Barnaby said. "You did a series of PSAs on automotive safety recently, didn't you?"

Now grinning, Keith continued, "Poseidon Line values your safety! Buckle up! And again, buckle up!"

"Listen, we've got to get moving, safety nut," Karina pointed out. "Otherwise, you'll have to break the speed limit to catch up with them."

Keith nodded, and the car approached the posted limit, but didn't cross it.


	3. Lawton's Elites

Barnaby first realized that something (else) was amiss when Kotetsu ignored an exit for the Gold Stage. Sternbild's three premier opera houses were up there, as well as four of its famed gala spaces. If they were attending a party or the theater in such formal attire, they had to get off of Silver and go for Gold. He ran through his mental list of Silver Stage convention centers, but none of them were equipped for events appropriate for Kotetsu's dress. _What's going on?_

Antonio caught on, too, and brought new information to the puzzle. "Wait a minute… We go here all the time."

"Where's 'here?'" Ivan asked.

"There's a bar in this area, Tiger and my usual place. Hero Bar."

"Oh, I sing there sometimes!" Karina added. "Why is Tiger taking his date to a bar dressed like that?"

"Is there anything else in the area?" Barnaby asked.

"Not really," Antonio said. "A few shops and little restaurants."

"Are they pre-gaming?" Pao Lin spoke up, almost surprising everyone that she was still there, forgotten in the back seat of a sports car.

"Who taught you that phrase?" Ivan spluttered.

"It doesn't matter," Karina pointed through the windshield again, this time keeping her seat belt fastened. "They've pulled in to the bar."

From the highway, Barnaby saw the little dot of a green SUV pull into the parking lot, circle through the rows few times, and finally pick a distant space. But once again, the heroes failed to observe Kotetsu's door etiquette, or see if the woman took his arm or anything during their approach.

"This doesn't make sense," Ivan said. "If they were just going to a bar, they could have dressed a lot more casually."

"Does the bar host special events?" Nathan asked.

"Only for the staff," Antonio said. "Antlers at Christmas and stuff."

"Wait! They missed the door!" Karina had her binoculars to her eyes. "They didn't go into Hero Bar! There's this little door to the right!"

"What's through that door?" Pao Lin asked.

"Some businesses on the upper floors," Antonio answered. "I've never really paid attention to them."

"Then we'll find out what's up there tonight," Barnaby said.

Keith and Nathan had difficulty finding parking, same as Kotetsu, but they eventually secured spaces and gathered at the small door.

"It's crowded tonight," Antonio noticed. "Usually there's more space than this."

"We won't find out what's going on down here," Barnaby said. "Let's go."

The seven heroes squeezed themselves (Barnaby first) through the door and into a narrow staircase, shuffling up as best they could without crashing into each other. The second story leveled out into an extremely tiny landing, and Barnaby stood face-to-face with a small sign that said "Lawton's" in cursive script. Antonio and Nathan managed to shove their way onto the landing, too, leaving the rest of the heroes on the steps.

"Hey, what are they looking at?"

"Jeez, why did we send the biggest heroes first?"

"What's up there, and again, what?"

With no other clues to guide him, Barnaby just placed his hand on the doorknob and opened the door.

The room buzzed with people wearing varying degrees of formal attire, though everyone had made an obvious effort to look nice. Music played through speakers hidden in the ceiling as couples danced in a large circle, occasionally butting up against the rows of chairs lined three-deep in a ring around the dance floor. Black fabric covered the walls, and fluttered occasionally as people brushed by, revealing shiny mirrors.

"Hello!" a girl in a black shirt bearing programs greeted. "Welcome to Lawton's Exhibition and Graduation night. We ask a five-dollar entrance fee for guests so we can continue to offer top-rate lesso—"

Barnaby pressed some money into the girl's free hand, decently confident it covered all the heroes at least twice over. "I actually have a question," he said as the bemused girl counted the wad of bills. "Did a brown-haired man with a beard come in a few minutes ago?"

"Oh, Kotetsu? Yeah, he's in back. Are you supporting him?"

"Supporting?"

The girl handed Barnaby a cluster of programs, grinning. "Get seats in the front. I think he'll be glad to see some familiar faces. This is a nerve-wracking night."

Barnaby looked down at the program: "Lawton's Ballroom and Latin Dance Studio: Graduation and Exhibition Event."

…_Dance?_

The heroes skirted around the dance floor, then begged and wheedled the other attendees to move their belongings until all the single seats in the front gathered into a seven-chair row, with Barnaby in the center, sandwiched between Antonio and Keith. Finally distributing the stack of programs, Barnaby opened his to the first page, a section labeled "Order of Events."

_Welcome… Presentation of Elite level students… Special performance by Mahnaz Yousef and Maria Centero… Performance of Beginner level students… Special performance by Jonah Staples and Claire Mahany… Performance of Intermediate level students… _

The schedule went on through four levels of dancers, a mid-program awards ceremony, and an intermission for social dancing, but immediately after _Performance of Elite level students_ Barnaby read, _Special performance by Kotetsu Kaburagi and Molly Hardwicke._

"Tiger's performing!" Pao Lin leaned across Keith to show Barnaby what the rookie had just read. "A special performance! Look, right after the Elites!"

"What? Where?" Ivan leaned into her, and she pulled back to show her program to him instead.

Barnaby flipped a few pages and found the list of participants, labeled with three-digit numbers, with the first digit representing the couple's skill level, 1 for Beginners, 2 for Intermediates, and so on. In the fourth column, Barnaby quickly found printed under the heading "Elite Students," _406: Kotetsu Kaburagi and Molly Hardwicke_. With his name appearing twice, this couldn't be a mistake. Kotetsu was a ballroom dancer. An elite ballroom dancer, according to the program.

"This looks like it's Tiger's final exam or something," Karina leaned over. "Do you think we'll embarrass him? Should we leave?"

"No way!" Keith decided. "Heroes do not abandon each other! We will cheer for Mr. Wild, and again, cheer!"

"Are you sure? He hid this from us."

"We never asked," Antonio answered. "He doesn't hide stuff. I know he would have told us about this if we just asked."

_Thank you, Bison, for realizing that_ after _we stalked Kotetsu all the way here._ Barnaby thought, but even he admitted that, until just now, none of the heroes would have known what question to ask.

Before Barnaby lost himself too deeply in his thoughts, a balding man in a suit cleared away the couples on the floor. Most retreated behind a black-curtained doorway, while others took spectator seats. The crowd hushed.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the man began elegantly. "Welcome to the thirty-second Lawton's Exhibition and Graduation Event. This is an annual event where we recognize all of the students who have worked very hard over the last year on the art of ballroom and Latin dance…"

The man droned on with a history of the studio, the life and times of famous dancer Brian Lawton, and the man's wish that the art of dance be shared with anyone who wanted to learn. He named the studio's faculty, who stood and bowed or curtsied in turn as he summarized their credentials.

"…Tonight, dancers from all class levels will demonstrate their skills before a panel of judges, in the style of a competition. They will be evaluated on technical difficulty, technical accuracy, and presence. Those with a passing evaluation will progress to the next skill level." The MC then described in some rather unnecessary detail the education requirements of the different levels, before he finally declared, "At this time, I would like to acknowledge our Elite level students!"

From the black-curtained doorway in the corner, a line of dancers processed into the room, paired off as gentleman and lady. They dispersed onto the dance floor gracefully, six couples in total. Barnaby instantly picked Kotetsu out of the column of suit-clad men. Someone had brushed his hair back, the little pieces that usually fell in his face smoothly groomed to the side. The sleek, sharp tuxedo certainly clashed with Barnaby's mental image of the old man—clumsy and a little absent-minded—but Kotetsu's presence, his straight back, broad shoulders, and long, confident stride, sold the whole image.

He looked _good._

The dancers dispersed; three couples took their place in a row facing the heroes' side of the audience, while Kotetsu, the mysterious Molly Hardwicke, and the remaining couples followed their choreography to face the opposite side, backs to the heroes. Someone had pinned a large sheet of paper with the number "406" to Kotetsu's jacket. He and his partner held hands at arms length, fingers lightly touching, keeping them in contact.

Once the students settled, the announcer continued: "Elite level students, like the Advanced Level, have completed at least six semesters of general lessons and at least three semesters of intensive lessons, in addition to at least two semesters of specialization, one in a standard ballroom dance and one in a standard Latin dance. Elite students have also been recommended by their instructors for special elite-level lessons, of which they have completed at least two semesters."

The heroes looked at each other, counting up the semesters: thirteen. _Tiger completed that much dance training,_ while _being a hero, and we never noticed?_

"They are, indeed, elite pupils, the pride of this studio, and an inspiration to all other students; a promise of what they can achieve through hard work and dedication." A few people applauded politely, and the MC paused for them before speaking again. "Tonight, in addition to receiving a passing evaluation of three dances, the quickstep, the rumba, and the waltz, Elite level dancers are required to choreograph a routine without instructor assistance, and perform it for the judging panel. The order of special performances is listed in your program. Now please, ladies and gentlemen, give another round of applause for our Elite Level dancers!"

The men bowed, the ladies curtsied, then the pairs turned around to weave through each other and bow to the opposite side. When Kotetsu turned around, the heroes' applause redoubled as he walked straight toward them with perfect posture. However, Barnaby watched his confidence crumple as his eyes fell on his friends.

When he saw his partner expression when faced with Keith's echoing applause, Antonio's booming shouts, and Nathan's screams, Barnaby realized Karina was more on base than they had thought. Kotetsu stared at them in utter shock, trailing half a count behind his partner as he tried to process their presence, his face asking the unspoken question, _How?_ No one had told the heroes about Kotetsu's hobby, or the performance tonight, and certainly no one had invited them. They tailed him across town like a criminal to figure out why he was acting so strange recently, and now that they had the answer, all his odd behaviors made perfect sense: the strange walking patterns, the Strauss, the meeting with a woman (who might still be his girlfriend, it remained to be seen). But they had taken a cowardly route to discover his secret, and Barnaby already felt guilty.

He wished he could explain to Kotetsu, before he had to perform under their scrutinizing eyes. But Kotetsu was already bowing, and in a few seconds, he'd be gone, so Barnaby tried to force all his feelings into a little smile. An apology, his regret… and just a hint of admiration.

Kotetsu raised his head, and instantly Barnaby could tell that Kotetsu saw _something_. Maybe not everything, and it was still too much to hope for forgiveness, but it was enough to go by, and Kotetsu and Molly departed the floor back into the side room along with all the other dancers, except one couple.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mahnaz Yousef and Maria Centro, performing the samba."

Even as a patron of the theater and other artistic performances, Barnaby didn't know that much about ballroom dancing or competitions. First and foremost, it was perfectly appropriate to cheer for a couple during their dance, and to shout and call attention to anything interesting that the performers did. Secondly, when doing all that screaming, it was best to refer to the couple by the number on their back rather than by the names listed in the program, so the judges could easily identify couples pleasing the crowd. Thirdly, this partner dancing—especially Latin, like the samba—was much more sexual than Barnaby had thought, full of hip gyrations and hands splayed across each others' bodies in a way closely resembling modern grinding. Granted, all the lewder gestures were interspersed with much more technical and impressive steps, turns, and dips. Dancing, at its core, was a celebration of beauty.

Watching the beginner and intermediate dancers proved entertaining as well, though mostly for shock value. The beginner couples, bless their souls, stumbled about the dance floor as best they could, bumping into each other, suddenly going the wrong way around the dance floor—fourth fact, always travel counter-clockwise around the floor—and all-in-all prove that they had the moves, but not the confidence for a clean execution. They also had a surprising number of girl-girl couples, but that seemed to be due to scarcity of male leads rather than sexual orientation.

After the Elite students Jonah and Claire performed a dance called the Foxtrot, very smooth and gliding, the intermediates took the floor and built upon the beginners' failures, smoothing out the rough spots and delivering an all-together good show, with a larger repertoire of steps and much cleaner performance. After one more special dance from another Elite couple—the Cha-Cha, which Barnaby hadn't known qualified as an official Latin dance fit for ballrooms—the MC declared a brief recess for the judges to process the scores they just gathered.

"They all look _gorgeous_~!" Nathan gushed. "I can't believe Tiger never told us he liked dancing! This competition is just wonderful!"

"I liked the girl in the purple dress, when she did that—that kick thing," Pao Lin demonstrated in her seat, a martial arts master recognizing elements of her favorite fighting style.

"I saw that one!" Ivan nodded enthusiastically. "Did you see 211's dip?"

"Can you believe Tiger's a Elite level dancer? I can't imagine him doing any of this," Karina looked out at the couples taking the floor for some social dancing.

"Mr. Wild has surprised us!" Keith said. "And I think this is a great surprise!"

"Excuse me."

The black-shirted girl from the entrance approached the row of heroes.

"Can we help you?" Barnaby asked.

"You all are friends of Kotetsu's, right?" The heroes nodded, as much to each other as to the girl. It felt kind of heartwarming to have Kotetsu label them all 'friends,' yet at the same time, so odd to meet other people on such familiar terms with him. "He's still got to practice, but he asked me to tell you something."

"Tell us what?" Pao Lin asked.

"He's not sure how you 'found out,' but since you did, you better cheer like crazy for him," she said, adding air-quotes.

Antonio chuckled. "He's going to regret asking that."

The girl looked doubtful. "You haven't been here. These last three weeks have been _bad_. Lots of drama in the Elite class."

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" Barnaby leaned forward a bit.

"Carlotta had a super nasty accident and broke her leg, leaving Kotetsu without a follow. Not her fault, and he took it well, but there's exactly the same number of leads as follows in that class. Without a partner, you can't dance, and you can't graduate. But then three weeks ago something happened between Molly and Juan. I heard he's skipped town, too. So then Kotetsu and Molly started practicing like crazy to get a routine together so maybe they can both graduate. Otherwise, they have to wait until next year."

"So this is a big deal," Karina said.

"The Elites are graded the hardest, but they've got the experience for it. Kotetsu's a real veteran."

Barnaby couldn't hide a smirk. _The irony._ "Thank you very much for the message."

"Don't mention it," the girl said, and she left.

"So Tiger-san isn't dating Molly?" Ivan asked.

"Who's Juan?" Antonio asked.

"How would we know?" Karina looked back down at her program. "That girl said he left."

"Maybe Molly was dating him?" Nathan lay a finger on the side of his face, looking up at the ceiling.

"So Tiger's her rebound!" Pao Lin jumped in.

"Seriously, who taught you all these words?"

"I'm thirteen, it's not _that_ young."

"But they became partners three weeks ago. And that's when we noticed Mr. Wild acting weird," Keith said. "It was all just because he wanted extra practice with his partner!"

_Partner._

Barnaby let the conversation wash over him, looking out at the dancing couples. Kotetsu and Molly had nothing to do with each other outside of a mutually beneficial arrangement. A contract. A professional partnership.

_But even I can say I have a professional partnership with Kotetsu,_ Barnaby thought. _And I'd rather be so much more than that._

He needed more evidence. So he'd sit back and let the night continue.


	4. Tiger Dances

The social dancing ended, and the judges presented certificates to the Beginner and Intermediate students. Only a few students didn't move up, but Barnaby mostly understood the judge's choices—some of the beginners could barely count time, and one Intermediate boy had rudely tried to trip a fellow dancer for nearly crashing into him.

_The criteria just gets stricter as they go… Can Kotetsu really handle this?_

After watching another Elite pair dance—a Viennese Waltz—Barnaby had a basic idea of what qualified as "good" for the Elites. Unwavering posture, precise steps, snappy movement. Complicated choreography, but never once losing stage presence. All those requirements clashed with Barnaby's idea of the old man, and all he had seen so far of the debonair Ballroom Tiger was a rehearsed walk and bow. But this ranking system had to have some merit—all the dancers so far presented as Elite were very impressive. The Advanced level students kicked everything up a notch as well, adding in little pre-dance acts and much more complicated turns, even a few lifts. While the Beginner and Intermediate dancers all had a sensation of moves strung together in sequence, the Advanced students blended their moves flawlessly. The same-sex couples had faded as the difficulty increased, but that might be a practical issue rather than a ban. As the going got tough, the tough got going, creating a much more even male-female distribution. A small part of Barnaby's heart chalked that down as evidence Kotetsu had no interest in this Molly Hardwicke, but it was a feeble reason, and he knew it.

After another Elite couple performance—a paso doble, set to a song that Antonio surprisingly recognized, as he mumbled along in Spanish under his breath—came the moment of truth: the Elite Level performance. The six couples filed onto the floor with grand, sweeping motions, selected a space, and stood facing each other, about two arms' lengths away. Kotetsu chose a corner some distance away from the heroes, though the counter-clockwise rotation would put him in front of them soon.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the first of three dances at the Elite level… the quickstep."

A heart-shuddering hush fell over the crowd, unlike any other session before. For a whole five seconds, Barnaby just stared at Kotetsu, tall and strong and _handsome_, uncertain of his expectations, but positive Kotetsu would obliterate them the way he always did.

The room swelled with a bright, jazzy song, and the dancers came alive. Kotetsu jumped into the air, his feet flashing too quick for Barnaby to follow, and he drew his partner into a standard dance hold, setting off around the floor with a springy step. They looked like two people running arm in arm, stopping every so often to 'dance;' kick playfully, or twirl, or otherwise switch up the action. The dance held a lot of Kotetsu's usual exuberance, but the focus and precision blew Barnaby's mind. The level-wide dances weren't choreographed, and yet it seemed like Molly and Kotetsu had performed this dance a thousand times over, reading each other perfectly.

"Four-oh-six!" Antonio bellowed.

"Four-oh-six!" Pao Lin cheered, putting up her fists. "Go, go!"

"Four! Oh! Six! Four! Oh! Six!" Keith chanted.

"Yeah, four-oh-six, come on!"

"Four-oh-si~ix!"

"_Yon-hyaku-roku!_"

Barnaby simply clapped as loud as he could. _Kotetsu._

Through three rounds of cheering for strangers arbitrarily designated as favorite couples, the heroes knew that dancers never acknowledged the crowd's support, but as Kotetsu made his second loop around the floor, just in front of the heroes, he suddenly froze, dipping his partner over his arm, before he flipped her back up and turned her to his right, positioning her legs behind his. Then, with just a little leverage with his arms, Kotetsu secured his hold and spun his follow around his torso, twice, like a baton, before setting her back down and skipping off again, not a single beat skipped.

Even Barnaby called out "Four-oh-six!" for that move, and many others in the crowd did as well. Kotetsu's strength and experience carrying people out of dangerous situations gave him a natural advantage. He dipped lower, lifted higher, and turned faster than everyone else. When the dance finally came to an end, Kotetsu lifted Molly and sat her on his shoulder in one fluid motion. The woman flung one hand into the air and surveyed the crowd from ten feet in the air, and the whole room burst into applause.

Kotetsu was fantastic. Beyond any limit Barnaby had thought of when he realized Kotetsu danced classical ballroom. He lowered Molly back to the ground, and they bowed to each side of the room. The ecstatic heroes cheered louder than any other section, even while turning to each other and babbling muddled exclamations of surprise. Still watching the couple, Barnaby noticed Molly's broad, happy smile as she subtly pointed at Kotetsu's head. He smoothed back some of his hair that had come loose, which only served to knock even more of it into his usual spiky style.

The couples all took hands again and picked a new spot on the floor as the MC announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, the second of three dances at the Elite level… the rumba."

After another magic pause of anticipation, the music started again, a slow, guitar-based Latin song. The instant the dance began, Kotetsu's hips captured Barnaby's gaze. The smooth, rhythmic sway, rippling all the way down his legs and to the floor, drew him in and held him fast. Even as other couples and Kotetsu's own follow obscured Barnaby's view, the way Molly's body followed Kotetsu's lead as if enchanted only multiplied the power in his moves. With a slower song, Kotetsu depended a lot more on snappy twists and low dips than lifts, less flashy, but creating a steady, powerful dance rather than a routine with clear peaks that could be cheered for. Besides, Barnaby couldn't be blamed if he just wanted to sit and watch Kotetsu's hips the whole time. The old man's score would survive if he took an eye candy break.

The rumba finished, and Kotetsu and Molly bowed again. Barnaby barely realized the dance was over until Antonio jabbed a finger in his shoulder, to Nathan's amusement. He fought down a blush and applauded.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third of three dances at the Elite level... the waltz."

Kotetsu led his partner to a third spot on the dance floor, on the other side of the dance floor directly across from the heroes.

"It's almost over," Keith realized, a little sadly.

"Tiger and his partner still have a dance after this. Their performance," Karina reminded him.

"That's got to be stressful, going last," Nathan mused.

Before they could say anything else, the waltz began. Kotetsu dropped to one knee, swirling his hands before reaching out for Molly. She twirled with a ballerina's grace, and Kotetsu caught her foot, patting her shoe before standing and spinning her around the other direction, using his leverage on her gracefully extended leg.

_Ah_, Barnaby realized. _Cinderella._

After that little performance, they settled into their dance, gliding across the floor with airy grace. Literally. Keith the Wind Wizard leaned over and whispered to Barnaby, "They're flying," and if a man who spent long hours flying and performing mid-air acrobatics thought they looked as if they were sailing through the air, it had to be good. The waltz brought out the side of Kotetsu Barnaby rarely saw, and had long doubted the existence of—a quiet, pensive man; calm, rational, mature. Prince Charming, Barnaby now realized.

Then, Kotetsu lifted Molly straight up, hands braced against her ribs, as she threw both arms in the air and let Kotetsu spin her around, basking in glory as cheers of "Four-oh-six! _Four-oh-six!_" redoubled. When he lowered her, rather than setting her back down on the floor, Kotetsu looped his right arm under her shoulders and his left arm under one leg, as Molly's other heel trailed gracefully just above the ground.

Three heroes poked Barnaby forcefully and whispered, "Princess carry!"

"Yes, I saw. He did a princess carry," Barnaby mumbled sourly. _Hilarious_. But the reminder of princess carries past, and his partnership with Kotetsu, sent Barnaby's thoughts in a strange direction that he couldn't yet explain.

That lift proved to be Kotetsu's most impressive move of the dance, and honestly the most impressive move of all the waltzers. The music ended, everyone applauded, and the dancers bowed.

"Tiger's next! His performance!" Karina cried.

"What will their dance be?" Nathan squirmed in his seat. "I hope it's another rumba~!"

"No! The waltz was wonderful, truly wonderful!" Keith insisted, leaning across Barnaby. "They should—"

A black jacket dropped onto Keith's head, interrupting him. The heroes looked up to see Kotetsu standing before them, struggling to loosen his bow tie. Sweat shone on his forehead, and his breathing shook with effort.

"Tiger!" Pao Lin exclaimed.

"A little help?" Kotestu panted.

"Sure, what?" Karina said.

"Hold this," Kotetsu gave up on his bow tie and removed a black cummerbund from around his waist, dropping it with the jacket. Barnaby removed Kotetsu's clothes from Keith's head, self-designating himself as wardrobe keeper.

"Don't you get a break?" Karina asked. "Everyone else got way more rest before their dances!"

Kotetsu just shook his head. "Keep the show… moving…" He unbuttoned the shirt cuffs and rolling the sleeves back to his elbows. After a quick examination, Barnaby determined his partner was definitely winded, but by no means out of energy. He'd be fine once he caught his breath.

"You never told us you danced~!" Nathan cut to the heart of the issue, but Kotetsu just held up his hand.

"Can't talk… Later… So, uh…" He took a deep breath, returning to the bow tie. "Hi, guys!"

Barnaby just smirked. Typical.

"Y'like?" Kotetsu finally found the secret of the bow tie, yanked it free, then unbuttoned the top one—top _two_—buttons of his dress shirt. The collar of his undershirt peeked out.

_Kotetsu, you are taking off your clothes in front of me. I like it very much, thank you._

The heroes all talked over each other, muddling their messages of support, but the MC chose that moment to announce, "Ladies and gentlemen, Kotetsu Kaburagi and Molly Hardwicke, performing the tango."

"Damn!" Kotetsu hissed. "Gotta go, wish me luck!"

"Good luck," Barnaby said. For a split second, Kotetsu paused, smiling like his usual dorky self, but he moved on, out to the floor, now extremely underdressed. Molly had just finished a similar transformation with some friends of hers on the other side of the dance floor, a layer of skirt removed from underneath her costume and her bun re-twisted and accented with a red silk flower.

"A tango~?" Nathan drawled. "This is going to be fun~…"

Rather than meet in the middle, Kotetsu and Molly picked spots on opposite sides of the dance floor, almost as far apart as possible. Kotetsu stared at the floor—gathering his focus? Reviewing the steps? Resting? Who knew?—and Barnaby watched him with baited breath.

And waited.

And waited.

And wai—POW.

Kotetsu exploded into motion with the music, flinging out his arms as his feet twisted and snapped together. Barnaby jumped, startled, as Kotetsu continued with sharp, quick moves, showcasing his lean, black-clad legs. With twisting hips and poised arms, those beautiful legs kicked and spun as if he had no need for gravity, taking Kotetsu across the floor with little indication he knew or cared where he was going.

On the other side, Molly delivered a similar performance, twirling her skirt in a wide fan as she and Kotetsu 'unconsciously' drew closer. The music sang with a melancholy melody and headstrong harmony, as if begging for a lover's touch while determined not to stop until sated. With a long kick from Kotetsu and a twirl from Molly, the two met in the center and fell into each other's arms, sinking low to the floor with one leg extended behind each of them in a long, sensual line.

It took Barnaby's breath away. _Oh, God, Kotetsu…_

He wished time could slow down. Barnaby wanted to engrave it all into his mind, the music, the movement, the sensation. This tango brought everything they had seen from the previous dances—the energy of the quickstep, the heat of the rumba, the charm of the waltz—and wrapped it all together with wild passion. The pair danced, so absolutely out of control, but at the same time, perfectly composed, twirling around the floor with careless precision.

Now that the partners were dancing together, Molly's legs did most of the work, darting in and out of Kotetsu's knees with each step, occasionally wrapping up around his waist. Meanwhile, Kotetsu directed her with his arms, turning her fractions of degrees so she spun, skirt flying, with grace and beauty. Occasionally Kotetsu met her the tangle of feet, and they kicked their heels up in perfect synch.

Then Kotetsu caught Molly's feet on top of his. She stopped moving, focusing instead on holding tight to Kotetsu's shoulders as he danced for the both of them, movements sharp and fierce as ever, even with two pairs of legs to account for. The crowd screamed, but it wasn't until Molly let herself drop, trusting Kotetsu to hold her safely as she bent backward over his arm, face full of ecstasy, that Barnaby vocalized anything. Though uncertain if it qualified as cheering, Barnaby shouted and leaned forward in his seat all the same, watching as Kotetsu dipped Molly a bit lower before pulling her back up and, with a quick little lift, swung her legs off of his, spinning her away and punctuating the whole sequence with a flick of his pointed toe.

Did Kotetsu have any inkling of how sexy he looked? How this dance set fire to every fiber in Barnaby's body? How much worse it got when, after another lift, Molly lowered to the floor and slid through Kotetsu's legs, one hand trailing behind along his inner thigh? Even jealousy lost out to the way Kotetsu rolled his hips in that move, sending a ripple down his magnificent legs, thighs to heels, and Barnaby had to bite back a sound even more humiliating than screaming.

The dance continued, building speed as they drew their motions in closer, adding more twists to already extremely complicated leg movement. Once, Kotetsu even managed to thread his right leg behind Molly's back and used it to guide her along a turn. Just as the music reached its crescendo, Kotetsu lifted Molly onto his shoulder once more, her body parallel to the ground. After a rotation, he seemed to let her down, but suddenly rolled her up onto his shoulder again. Molly twirled across his neck and slid down into Kotetsu's waiting arms—one braced her left leg, the other her core, while her right leg anchored her to Kotetsu's left, one arm snaking behind her and onto his shoulder.

Barnaby leapt to his feet, applauding, and though others had the same idea, he couldn't care less. The clothes he had sworn to protect tumbled to the floor as, ballroom etiquette be damned, he shouted his partner's name: "Kotetsu! _Kotetsu!_"

_Kotetsu, I love you!_

After a full ten seconds, Kotetsu and Molly moved, seamlessly lowering her to a standing position and bowing to each side of the room. Barnaby saw Kotetsu's impish grin as he bowed toward the heroes—who Barnaby now noticed had all stood to applaud. So he didn't seem like a total fool.

As Kotetsu took Molly's hand and led her back to the 'backstage' room, Barnaby stared after them, mind still sparking in the aftermath of that performance. That tango. That astounding tango, the sensual motion, Kotetsu's body, _Kotetsu's body!_

A sudden pinch on his ass shocked Barnaby out of his thoughts, and he whipped around, one hand flying behind him to protect the area from further assault. Nathan smiled at him smugly.

"I asked you a question, Handsome, but it seemed you were still thinking about Tiger's _fiery_ dance just now, hm~?"

Before Barnaby could come up with a more appropriate excuse for his distraction, Nathan leaned in to his shoulder and added in a whisper, "You know, he's probably very good at many forms of tango, including ones that aren't so _vertical_…"

_No don't think about that don't think about that don't—too late…_

The MC announced a second round of social dancing, and people flooded onto the floor, some dancing, others gossiping about graduation prospects for certain couples.

Barnaby took that opportunity to slip away.


	5. The Graduates

Kotetsu and Molly, still gasping for air, exited the dance floor for the "comfort" of the secondary studio. The middle was crammed with folding chairs for the competitors while they waited, though the corners had been kept clear so couples could practice some last-minute moves before their performances. Kotetsu and Molly had spent just about the entire night in those corners, running through their routine in miniature as many times as humanly possible, and now that it was done, a wave of relief washed through Kotetsu.

He did it. They liked his dancing. And most importantly, with "Kotetsu! Kotetsu!" ringing in his ears, he knew that Barnaby liked his dancing. The swell of pride buoyed Kotetsu's spirit high above his aching body.

"So?" Molly breathed.

"So, what?" Kotetsu fell into one of the chairs. Damn, his feet burned. They always burned after competitions, but tonight, the pain blazed particularly hot.

"Think you impressed your co-workers?"

"Eh?" Kotetsu blinked at her. Right, the other heroes in the audience! At the time, when Kotetsu saw the faces of his work-friends lined up, most of his brain functions just shut down. Molly practically had to slap him to make him tell her what was wrong, and the best excuse Kotetsu spluttered was, People, from my office." He tried his best to put them out of his mind as he and Molly tiptoed through their routine a few times, and by the midpoint, he felt comfortable sending them a message to cheer for him. By the end of Kotetsu's dancing, their presence felt so natural he barely knew why he had been so shocked before.

Molly took his silence as avoidance. "Don't think I didn't notice. You were showing off."

"Was not."

"Are you kidding? You did way more lifts than I expected for the level dances. I should've worn a different bra."

"Were you okay?"

"It's fine, but it poked," she said, adjusting the garment in question.

"Sorry…"

"Hey," Molly hit his shoulder lightly. "You need to be able to show your face at the office."

Kotetsu just nodded. Granted, he couldn't really think of anyone at Apollon who would give him much grief; maybe Lloyds or Ms. Carter, the secretary, or maybe Saito, in his own way. It had crossed his mind that, though Barnaby liked a lot of this stuffy-classic-stuff, he might berate Kotetsu for doing it poorly. But after a show like that, which on top of feeling right had Barnaby hopping up and down cheering—_he can be so cute when he wants_—ridicule was the furthest thing from Kotetsu's mind.

"Kotetsu! Molly!" The pair looked up at the newcomer.

"Natalie!" Molly exclaimed, and instantly Kotetsu stood, foregoing the pain in his feet. "How are you?"

"Proud as punch!" their old teacher beamed. "I swear, the number one reason I put up with the Beginner dolts is so when they _blossom_ into Elites like you—" She warmly embraced Molly. "—I can say I knew them when they couldn't tell a polka from a pirouette!"

"Natalie, that's unfair to the kids," Kotetsu opened his arms to accept his old teacher's hug.

"It's more than fair!" Natalie insisted, giving Kotetsu a squeeze. "Everyone is atrocious when they start! But then how long did I spend drilling you in Latin hips? And now look at you!"

Natalie swayed her hips back and forth, counting a Cha Cha rhythm. Kotetsu caught on instantly, adding an extra roll into the hips of his stepping leg. Two years ago, he felt like an idiot shaking his ass around. Now, it felt second-nature.

"So… did we graduate?" Molly teased, knowing full well Natalie couldn't answer. Everyone would find out who graduated and who didn't at the same time.

"Oh! I forgot the evaluations! Excuse me!" Natalie beat an exaggerated, hasty retreat to the door. She paused to blow a kiss to her old students, and left.

"What are you going to do if you graduate?" Molly asked.

"Master the other dances," Kotetsu answered, still smiling over Natalie's praise. "Sorry we couldn't do paso doble."

"Hey, you planned on jive, so it's fair," Molly dismissed his concern. "I'm just a paso doble nut."

"Heh, 'nut' is right," Kotetsu agreed. No one loved that dance more than her. But, he quickly returned to the topic at hand. "I just want to keep dancing. I'm not done yet."

"What about going pro?"

"Huh?"

Molly toyed with the flower in her hair. "The thing I want to do most once I graduate... well, I want to be a professional dancer. If I graduate, I'll have the credentials for a job as a teacher, and then if I keep taking classes, keep performing…"

"That's an awesome dream!" Kotetsu smiled at her. "You'll do great, Molly."

Encouraged by Kotetsu's support, Molly rushed on, "Will you go pro, too?"

"What? No!" Kotetsu answered too suddenly, and Molly's face fell. "N-No, what I mean is, _you_ should to pro. That's your dream, isn't it?"

"I just thought—I'm sure we graduated! You heard them cheering for us, louder than anyone else!"

_Thanks, Antonio…_

"And we put together that tango in three weeks! _Less_ than three weeks, because we had to practice the other dances and you canceled a few nights!"

_Because my call bracelet went off…_

"And wouldn't you rather get out of that stuffy office and dance for a living?"

"I do hate paperwork…" Kotetsu admitted, but he shook himself. "There's more to my job than that! I really do enjoy it!"

"I can't see a guy like you enjoying office work," Molly folder her arms. "Advertising? You _like_ that soulless corporate stuff?"

"No, I promise! It's really satisfying!"

"How?"

"It's… um…" Kotetsu floundered for a minute, before he looked back at the door to the main studio. "…Well, because of my co-workers out there."

Molly followed his gaze, then looked down and laughed dryly. "Worth a shot. Most people go pro with a partner, and since Juan…"

Kotetsu winced at the mention of Molly's ex. That had not been a happy day three weeks ago, when Juan's betrayal came to light. That cheating thief. Kotetsu still couldn't get the image of Molly's enraged face out of his mind. But now, he tried his best to laugh it off. "Trust me, it's tempting, but I already work with a partner." _The best partner in the world._

Tanya appeared out of nowhere and shoved Kotetsu's discarded clothes into his arms, disrupting their conversation. "Good job out there, both of you. Awards are in five minutes."

Kotetsu dressed again, re-tying the bow tie at least three times before he was happy with it, a little lost in thought. Molly had surprised him, asking if he'd go pro with her, but that was one of the pitfalls of having a secret identity. Everyone thought they knew the real Kotetsu T. Kaburagi, and he wasn't allowed to correct them. From Molly's perspective, she only saw Kotetsu at ballroom lessons and knew he had a job in the Apollon Media building, so she filled in the gaps and assumed he rather leave his job and take up dancing. Molly was a good friend and a talented dancer, but she didn't know Kotetsu would never quit being a hero.

That, and the whole encounter served to remind him just how much he cared about the heroes outside. He _had_ showed off, pulling out his best moves and inventing a few new ones, partly because he wanted his friends to see him succeed at something, but mostly because he wanted them to smile and enjoy themselves.

And seeing Barnaby's smile...

On schedule, they called out all the Advanced and Elite graduation candidates, forming two lines of couples and facing the judges. Kotetsu's back was to the heroes, but he heard Antonio's bull roar loud and clear.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Rodenage began. _If he says that one more time…_ "It is time to recognize our Advanced level graduates. Please come and accept your certificate if your name is called. Karin Adelto..."

Kotetsu clapped for each student as their name was called, the list peppered with screams from different corners of the room as friends and family showed support. The names called advanced, while the other candidates stood by, left behind. Personally, Kotetsu found the whole setup discouraging, but Mr. Rodenage argued it was to maintain standards and recognize excellence. Frankly, it paralleled the King of Heroes ceremony too closely for Kotetsu to complain too much. He just made sure to shake hands with all the kids that didn't move up.

They called out sixteen names in all from the class of twenty-two—a very good graduation rate. And though some students couldn't hide their disappointment, Kotetsu had seen serious waterworks through the years from students passed over for graduation, and this year's class handled it very maturely.

"Ladies and gentlemen—" Kotetsu thought many bad words. "It is time to recognize our Elite level graduates. Please step forward if your name is called."

The whole crowd went silent.

"Maria Centro."

Kotetsu clapped as Maria stepped up to Mr. Rodenage, tearfully accepting her certificate and shaking hands with all the instructors.

"Victor Fabbozzi."

More clapping, more handshakes. A few sad faces down the line: Mr. Rodenage read the names alphabetically, automatically condemning anyone A-E whose names were not called.

"Caroline Gurevich."

More clapping, more handshakes. Kotetsu mentally ran through the roster. To graduate, Molly had to be called next, and Kotetsu's name would be right after. Molly took his hand, and he gave her a squeeze. _You'll get it. You will._

"Molly Hardwicke."

Her hands flew to her mouth as she stifled a scream. Kotetsu smiled as she scurried to the front, clasping her certificate tightly and hugging the instructors instead of handshaking.

_Good job, kid._

And now, the moment of truth. Either Kotetsu's name was next, or it wasn't. Pairs often graduated together, so he'd probably be okay. At the Elite level, it was hard to look good without a partner at least as skilled as you were. And Molly was right, the roar of the crowd when they danced still rang in his ears. Everyone thought he was fantastic.

But a little voice in his head asked him, _Why do you deserve this?_

Kotetsu didn't know. He didn't have dreams for a professional career like Molly and many other Elites. And even though he advanced this far in just a few years, he spent the whole time pulled in two directions: he either stood up his dance partners to answer his call bracelet, or he ditched his friends, like Antonio, to go dancing. He was here because he liked dancing, but this actually _meant _something to so many others. Why did he deserve an Elite-level graduation certificate? He didn't. Not really.

And really, it didn't matter. Kotetsu should be used to rejection like this by now. Yes, a lead made decisions that his follow had to accept, but she was the one wearing the beautiful dress, catching the crowd's attention and earning praise. He existed to make her look good, and even though Kotetsu had agreed to make a last-ditch attempt at graduation, even though he knew how much it had cost him, even though he knew how much it would hurt to be passed over, he knew the way things usually went for him. Besides, he knew there were things far more valuable than recognition.

'_Come on. Let's go—'_

Prizes more precious than fame...

'—_Kotetsu.'_

_Bunny…_

The person standing next to Kotetsu elbowed him. "He called you!" Jonah whispered.

"He—He did?!" Kotetsu came to his senses, remembering the place and time, and realizing that the whole room echoed with a giant cheer. Glancing over his shoulder, Kotetsu saw the row of heroes absolutely lose it, hollering at his victory.

_Wait… Where's Bunny?_

With no time to ponder his partner's absence, Kotetsu stepped forward, accepted his certificate from Mr. Rodenage, and followed the line of handshakes, giving Natalie a hug because he knew he owed her everything for that crucial lesson number one: the frame.

Mr. Rodenage called one more name—Maria's partner, Mahnaz—and then asked for one last round of applause for the Elite graduates, six in total. The heroes continued screaming, and Kotetsu gave them a thumbs-up.

"For the rest of the evening, please enjoy an open dance floor. Thank you all for attending!"

As the crowd started shifting and gathering their belongings, Kotetsu turned to Molly. "So—" he began, but found the air knocked out of him by a giant hug.

"Thank you," she said into his shoulder. "I know you won't go pro, but thank you, thank you for everything!"

"No, thank you," Kotetsu patted her back. "You did it."

"Explain yourself, _now~_!" an extremely flamboyant voice shattered the moment.

The hug ended, and Kotetsu faced his fellow heroes. "What is there to explain? You just saw. I dance."

"Since when?" Karina cried.

"Um, when was B-1?" Kotetsu looked to Molly. "Three years?"

"Three and a half," Molly said. "We're off-schedule by a semester."

"Molly Hardwicke?" Keith checked, and Molly nodded. "It's very nice to meet you!"

"How do you know T—Kaburagi-san?" Ivan asked.

"From class," Molly answered. "We're on the same level track."

"Are you dating?" Pao Lin spoke up bluntly.

Molly blinked at the little Chinese girl. "No, we're not. We're just dance partners."

"But then what were the roses for?" Karina asked.

"Carnations," Kotetsu corrected, before his brain fully realized what Karina had said. "Wait a minute—"

"Oh! Carnations change everything!" Pao Lin said. "Pink carnations are for gratitude, not love!" Everyone breathed a strange sigh of relief.

"Hey, how do you guys know I gave Molly flowers?" Kotetsu asked.

The six heroes stared at him, identical expressions of shock and horror written on their faces.

"H-Hey, I… think I saw some food over there!" Pao Lin darted away.

"I'm coming too!" Karina followed after her.

"Wait, where did Ivan go?" Keith asked. Ivan had indeed vanished into thin air, or Kotetsu guessed, maybe another person's appearance. "I will look for him!"

Antonio and Nathan remained without excuses, but Nathan just changed the subject as hastily as he could, "So, Miss Molly! Have you and Kotetsu danced in other competitions together?"

_How the hell did they know I gave her flowers? And then they think they can just pretend they didn't say anything?_ Kotetsu fumed a bit, but Molly either didn't notice the inconsistency or decided to let it slide, because she answered Nathan pleasantly, "We were supposed to have different partners, but I guess coincidence threw us together."

"Coincidence?"

"Carlotta broke her femur, and Juan picked three weeks ago to show his true colors as a dirty, rotten, cheating little fuc—"

"It just worked out!" Kotetsu censored the young woman, forcing laughter. "And I didn't tell you guys about it because I didn't want to answer any questions about Molly's life… so…"

"That's fair," Nathan decided. "So you only had a three weeks to come up with that _fantastic_ tango?"

"Was it really that fantastic?" Molly asked. She knew damn well how fantastic it was, but Molly generally didn't favor tango. "Kotetsu's intensives are in jive and quickstep, and mine are waltz and paso doble, so we had to make do with what we could."

"Yeah, that other pair's paso doble looked pretty good," Antonio said. "They picked a slow version of their song, though."

Molly stared at Antonio as if seeing him for the first time. "…What?"

"My grandma played paso doble music all the time," Antonio explained a little awkwardly. "I guess she gave me an ear for it. Never danced it, though."

Eyes glittering, Molly took Antonio's hand. "Can I teach you paso doble? _Please_?"

Over Molly's shoulder, Kotetsu nodded furiously and signaled a thumbs-up again. Through his long history with Antonio, Kotetsu could certify him as Not Like Juan. And if he took to the paso doble—which, as the dance of Spanish bullfighters, there was a strong probability he would—Molly would love him forever.

"Sure," Antonio answered, still a little uncertain, and Molly dragged him away to find a practice space.

"Oh, no~! She's stealing my hot buns~!" Nathan moaned, but neither looked back. Kotetsu just laughed fondly. _Bull Boy and Dances-With-Bison. Go forth and be crazy and never regret it._

They vanished into the crowd, and Nathan shifted his attention back to Kotetsu, sitting into one hip. "But Tiger, darling, why didn't you tell us sooner? You've got a knack for this. We would have cheered you through other events, too."

"I don't know, it just never came up," Kotetsu said. "And dance class was sort of my time-off, you know? I didn't think about work here. I'm glad you guys showed up, I wouldn't have told you to leave, but here, only dancing matters." Nathan nodded understandingly. "Hey, do you know where Bunny—"

"He's somewhere. We brought two cars, mine and Sky High's, so he hasn't left."

"Thanks," Kotetsu scanned the dancing crowd for any sign of blonde curls. "I'll see you later."

"Good luck~…"

Kotetsu left the fiery hero and plunged into the crowd, seeking his partner.


	6. The Last Dance

Kotetsu circled the dance floor three times for Barnaby. He checked in the back studio in case his partner had gone searching for him in return, scanned the other studios and the administrative office, (spent a little time encouraging a tearful Intermediate girl passed over for graduation, tutoring her in foxtrot until she felt better), and even hovered by the bathroom for a few minutes, just in case.

With no luck finding his partner, Kotetsu started tracking down and asking _anyone_ who might help him. He asked Pao Lin and Karina if they had seen him, he asked Keith and Nathan if they had given him their keys, he _wanted_ to ask Antonio, but with Molly in full paso doble nut mode, the most he could do was signal bunny-ears to his old friend, who shook his head. But then he asked Tanya, and _she_ didn't know, and she she had ninja skills second only to Ivan, who was still hiding somewhere in the crowd. In hopes of rooting out the hidden hero, Kotetsu asked some unfamiliar faces if they knew where he might find a tall blonde man with curly hair and glasses, but no one could help him.

_C'mon, Bunny, where are you?_

The last Kotetsu had seen of Barnaby, he had been happy. Joyful, even, as he shouted Kotetsu's name after his tango. But then he vanished just before Kotetsu's graduation. What had happened in that span of time? If he had been recognized, the crowd should be buzzing that the great _Barnaby Brooks Jr_ had attended. This night couldn't end before Kotetsu talked with his partner, at least to explain why he didn't talk about his hobbies at work. And the longer it took to find his partner, the more anxious Kotetsu got.

The ballroom floor gradually emptied as people gathered their friends and left. Kotetsu picked the heroes out of the crowd more easily now: Pao Lin and Karina were "dancing," Pao Lin leading as the two skipped around with little regard for whether the steps matched the song. Karina tried to count the time aloud, but their dance fell apart when Pao Lin attempted a princess-carry lift and the unprepared Karina half-shrieked, half-giggled, "Put me down! Nooo, put me _down_!" Then to the side, Nathan was flirting with Mahnaz; not sexually harassing him, because as far as Kotetsu could tell, the dancer enjoyed the attention, laughing and smiling.

_Wait, Mahnaz is gay?_ Kotetsu froze for a split second, before continuing his search. _Huh…_

Kotetsu noticed Keith bouncing among the remaining dancers, begging them to share the secrets of the waltz, finding new teachers as old ones left. Eventually, he encountered Natalie, who started drilling him in the standard frame. Kotetsu interrupted them for a second, but neither had seen Barnaby. And Antonio and Molly were off the dance floor, talking, which impressed Kotetsu even more: little short of a natural disaster could get Molly's mind off her favorite dance, so if Antonio had managed the feat, he a strong chance of getting a new girlfriend. Considering how difficult it must have been to change her frequently one-track mind, Kotetsu resisted asking them again if they had seen Barnaby, especially since he should be getting easier to find as people vanished.

Losing hope, Kotetsu sat in an abandoned chair and surveyed the room. Where could Barnaby have gone?

"Look, um, Origami?" Kotetsu talked to the air, feeling a bit foolish, but out of options. "I promise I'm not mad. I'd like some answers, but… I mean… I'm really worried about Bunny right now. So… if you're one of these people still hanging around…"

A blue flash glinted out of the corner of his eye, and the chair at the end of the row transformed into the blonde hero. Kotetsu, rather understandably, freaked out.

"You—You were a chair? You can be a chair?!"

Ivan just nodded slightly. "I'm trying out a new way to use my power."

Swallowing hard, Kotetsu nodded, mind boggling with the possibilities of being able to change into objects. _If we thought he was a sneaky ninja_ before _tonight_…

"You're worried about Barnaby-san?" Ivan took the seat beside Kotetsu.

"Y-Yeah," Kotetsu said. "I didn't see him at graduation, and no one else has, either. I think he might be upset about something, but I don't know what."

"He left after your performance."

"He left? Fire Emblem said he doesn't have a car!"

Ivan shrugged. "I didn't see anything else, but he left the studio after your tango with Molly-san."

"Do you know if anything happened after the tango? Anyone talk to him, or… something?"

Ivan shook his head. "I didn't see anything, but he's been a little strange all night. I think… this is my fault, Tiger-san."

"Eh? Why?"

He stared down at his shoes. "You promised you aren't mad, but… we found this place because we followed you from your home. We saw you leave your house, dressed very nicely, pick up a woman at her house, and give her flowers. So we all thought she was your girlfriend, and we tried to figure out how long you had been dating, how serious you were…" Ivan stopped and quickly backtracked. "But you aren't dating Molly-san at all! We were completely wrong!"

"I'll say," Kotetsu struggled to rein in his anger, as per his promise. _But they invaded my privacy! Heroes don't do that!_ "But why did you decide to follow me in the first place?"

"You've been acting very strangely!" Ivan insisted. "Not meeting anyone outside of work, walking in strange lines, humming odd songs…"

"You noticed all that?" Kotetsu scratched at one of his beard-kitties. Dance practice and graduation had definitely been on his mind, but affecting his behavior that obviously?

"We were discussing it during training today, and I brought up that I had seen you meet Molly-san outside the Apollon building, and I'm the one who said she was your girlfriend. Then Fire Emblem-san and Blue Rose-san wanted to investigate, but it wasn't until Barnaby-san said he was worried about you that everyone joined in."

"Bunny was worried about _me_?" Kotetsu pointed at himself in disbelief, and Ivan nodded.

"At times when he thought no one was watching, he'd look lost in thought, and a bit sad. He might still think you and Molly-san are a couple."

"So is…" Kotetsu didn't even want to bring up the possibility that Barnaby might be jealous, because a part of him felt like that reaction from his partner was too good to be true. Now Kotetsu _really_ had to find Barnaby. "Never mind. Thanks for telling me. And congrats on a new way to use your power. Even scared me."

"Sorry," the blonde mumbled, but Kotetsu laughed.

"Don't be sorry! That means it'll scare a criminal half to death!" He stood, heading for the exit. "If the others ask, I stepped out to look for Bunny, okay?"

He didn't hear the reply as he entered the cramped stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time down to street level. He hoped Ivan was right, hoped Barnaby hadn't found some other way to leave, hoped he wasn't angry, hope, hope, lots of hope.

_Please, Bunny._

Out in the street, Kotetsu scanned the parking lot, sparsely dotted with some stragglers' cars, faintly illuminated by a few tall streetlights. He quickly noticed someone sitting on the curb a few meters down the sidewalk, the only figure in the dark night.

"Bunny!" Kotetsu cried, approaching his partner. "How long have you been out here? You'll catch a chill!"

"It's not cold," Barnaby corrected him. And he was right; the night was mild, and between Barnaby's usual jacket and Kotetsu's tailcoat, neither felt the temperature.

"E-Either way… Graduation ended ages ago," Kotetsu sat down on the curb beside Barnaby, subtly glancing at his partner's face. His expression was blank. "You missed the ceremony."

"Did you graduate?"

"Of course!" Kotetsu gave Barnaby a thumbs up. "Molly, too! Only six of us graduated. We were so awesome!"

"Congratulations, then. That's very impressive."

Kotetsu frowned. What was with this cold, formal Bunny? He remembered what Ivan had said a few minutes before, about Barnaby's concern for him, and how everyone had operated under the assumption he and Molly were together. Did that really bother him as much as Kotetsu thought—all right, hoped—it did?

Before Kotetsu could say anything, Barnaby spoke up. "I heard about your previous partner. Carly?"

"Carlotta," Kotetsu mumbled.

"Right," Barnaby said flatly. "She had an injury, didn't she?"

"Yeah."

"How long ago?"

Kotetsu thought. When had he first seen Carlotta in that wheelchair, shame and regret written all over her face as she explained the doctor's estimates? Her femur, a difficult bone to break, and even harder to heal. Kotetsu knew first-hand from years of hero-related injuries. "Four months ago, I think. It's healed, but she doesn't have the strength for dancing yet."

"You had four months to find another partner."

"Yeah, I did…"

"Why didn't you ask me?"

"Huh?!" Kotetsu's jaw dropped. "Bunny, you dance, too?"

"No," he admitted. "But I'm a quick study. I'm as strong as you, and there was no ban against same-sex pairs. We could have done it."

"Me, teach you all of ballroom and Latin in four months?"

"Just those four dances. We could have done it. One dance a month."

"I can't teach someone three years of Elite work in four months, no matter who. Even if we took that four months off from work."

"You still should have asked."

"Bunny, I didn't ask because you're my hero partner. I needed a dance partner."

"I'm your _partner_!" Barnaby insisted, the force in his voice surprising both of them. After a minute of timid silence, Barnaby looked down at the asphalt and amended softly, "I want to be your partner in everything."

Kotetsu blinked, staring at his partner, half-lit with smoky yellow light.

"Just... how much do you mean by 'everything?'" Kotetsu asked.

"I mean, everything."

"Everything-everything?"

"…Yes."

Kotetsu stared at Barnaby, while Barnaby tried his best to ignore Kotetsu's gaze, or maybe pretend that his startling confession wasn't really that earth-shattering. Partners in everything, huh? _Dammit, he can be way too cute sometimes._

Finally, Kotetsu moved, and placed his hand on top of Barnaby's, fingers curling slightly. Barnaby jumped and looked at his hand, now covered by Kotetsu's darker one, then shifted until they had a firm but gentle hold. But before Barnaby could get too comfortable, Kotetsu stood, pulling his partner to his feet.

"What are you doing?"

"Lesson number one," Kotetsu said. "Frame. Arms, like this…" He molded Barnaby's arms into the right shape—broad shoulders, arced arms, hands hovering at about belly-button level. "Never let your elbows go completely straight, or go behind your body. Keep them strong."

Barnaby nodded. Shifting his partner's hands into kitten-paws, Kotetsu took Barnaby's hands in his book-hold grip. "If we both have a strong frame, we'll move. I'll lead this one, okay?"

"Okay."

Kotetsu took a long, slow step backward, pulling Barnaby toward him. Barnaby followed, and they walked together, Kotetsu setting a rhythm for Barnaby to follow. Once he thought his partner was comfortable with that motion, Kotetsu switched direction and walked forward, pushing Barnaby back. The blonde made a small sound of surprise as their direction suddenly changed, but he maintained his frame, and in spite of that little hiccup, he fell back into step soon, letting Kotetsu guide him.

Kotetsu switched directions a few more times, inventing a wilder pattern, until Barnaby found the follow's stride—simply lifting his foot and letting it fall wherever Kotetsu directed, using a solid frame to keep them from crashing into each other.

"Good," Kotetsu murmured. _Bunny's_ really _good, actually…_ "Then if I do this…"

He added another dimension to the exercise—curves. Rather than straight forward and backward, Kotetsu gently arced his partner toward the buildings, then back, curving off the sidewalk, and curving again, approaching a parked pickup truck.

"Should we be doing this in the parking lot?" Barnaby asked, but he didn't drop Kotetsu's hands or stop the exercise.

"It's not busy."

"But… automotive safety…"

"We've got Hundred Power. If a car hit us, the car breaks."

Barnaby smiled, and Kotetsu grinned back, guiding Barnaby through large, lazy rings and figure-eights around the mostly-barren parking lot. Barnaby matched him without even thinking. No matter which way Kotetsu turned him, no matter what rhythm he picked, Barnaby followed, staring straight into Kotetsu's eyes the whole time. Rather than feel awkward under his gaze, Kotetsu met it, using peripherals to watch their surroundings as he focused his attention on Barnaby, the young man practically glowing under the streetlights.

"Lesson two," Kotetsu spread his arms wider to draw Barnaby closer to him, and then dropped his right hand, looping it under Barnaby's arm to rest on his left shoulder blade. Then his left hand adjusted his hold until their hands were palm to palm, Barnaby's fingers lightly curling over the space between Kotetsu's thumb and first finger. Barnaby blinked in surprise, and Kotetsu felt him tense as he tried to predict and avoid Kotetsu's suddenly much closer feet.

"Relax, Bunny. Nothing's changed. Your wrist goes on my arm," Kotetsu instructed. "Then let your hand fall onto my shoulder. Don't grip."

"Like this?"

"Yeah."

Kotetsu eased up on the direction changes, leading Barnaby in a simple line, back and forth, as he adjusted to the new contact points of standard closed position. Rather than in his hands alone, pressure on his back meant come forward, while force on the left arm looped over Kotetsu's meant to go backwards. But still, he remembered lesson number one and kept his body taut and receptive to all of Kotetsu's moves.

Soon, a pattern emerged in their steps, and Kotetsu added a little scoop into their steps—one long, low stride, then two closer, taller ones, before another long step.

"Are we… waltzing?" Barnaby asked. Kotetsu smiled a little broader, and started singing a little tune, which his partner also recognized. "Tchalikovsky."

"Bless you."

"I didn't sneeze. Tchalikovsky was a Russian composer. You're singing the Waltz of the Flowers."

"Really?"

"You don't know?"

"It's a waltz, that's what matters."

"Honestly, you call yourself a ballroom dancer, yet you don't have the decency to learn the names of the songs you dance to."

"Hey, that's not important! We're dancing, not playing 'Name That Tune!'"

"That show's been off the air for years, old man."

"Well, when's the last time anyone listened to one of your old operas, huh?"

"The Canis Major Players performed _Don Giovanni_ last month, to a full house."

"When have _normal_ people listened to operas?"

"You're an exception to current norms as a ballroom dancer, Kotetsu. Please don't be hypocritical."

"Who are you calling hypocritical!?"

As they settled into familiar bickering, the dance shifted. Steps shortened and sped up, like a sloppy fusion of the waltz and the faster Viennese. The arc of their turns tightened, and they drew closer, chasing each other in a tight spiral, faces inches apart.

"I _knew_ you'd find something to complain about. I just knew it!"

"This is a perfectly legitimate criticism. Art is meaningless if you don't know its context."

"Why do you need a context to do something you like?"

"To better understand your enjoyment of it."

"If I like dancing, then I like it! What more do I need to understand? Do I need to know the third concerto in the second movement of—"

"That's _backwards_! A concerto is made of movements, there's no such thing as—"

A car horn blared, and the two heroes leapt apart, instinctively taking fighting stances. A gray hatchback inched closer to them, easing them out of its way. Kotetsu smiled sheepishly and waved at the driver as Barnaby tried to pretend he had not been dancing in the middle of a parking lot, a fact he and Kotetsu had both forgotten.

Once the car vanished into the night, the two partners awkwardly returned to the sidewalk, leaving their impromptu dance floor.

"You know," Kotetsu started. "I'm not dating Molly. I brought her flowers because I wanted to thank her for bending her schedule all out of shape and putting up with me when I canceled for hero calls. She did me a huge favor."

Barnaby said nothing, so Kotetsu continued. "They were carnations, anyway. Apparently you guys thought they were roses, but I looked it up. Pink carnations are for thanks. If you guys had just asked, I would have told you. No need to follow me all over town." Kotetsu paused. "I heard that was _your_ idea, too."

The blonde finally reacted. "It's no more outlandish than staging a robbery as a birthday surprise. I think we're even."

"Even? I thought you forgave me for that!"

"I had not."

"But I gave you the points for arresting that diamond NEXT!"

"That was your present to me. The damages from the earlier stunt remained unaddressed. Not only did the thief have live bullets, but you also tried to use me as a shield." Barnaby's eyes narrowed slightly, accusing.

"I'm sorry, Bunny," Kotetsu twiddled his thumbs. "I didn't mean it, I promise…"

"Forget it. We're even now."

"But wait, two wrongs don't make a right!" Kotetsu insisted. "You think we can have a partnership where we act like that?"

"Then how would you settle the score?"

Kotetsu scratched at his beard, thinking, before he brightened. "I got it! My dance!"

"What?"

"My special performance!"

"What about it?"

"I dedicate that tango to you."

Barnaby's forehead creased in a scowl. "You danced like that for _Molly_. I won't accept a second-hand dedication."

"No, no, it was for you," Kotetsu held up his hands, placating. "Just hear me out."

The blonde folded his arms impatiently as Kotetsu gathered his thoughts.

"It really shocked me when I saw you guys, but I didn't think there was anything too strange about it then. Antonio or someone could've gone upstairs one night and found out. But once I got over how you found me, I wanted you all to see me do well, so I tried my absolute best. I did even better than I thought I could. Then I realized…"

Damn, this was hard to say, and his face grew hot just thinking about it, but he had to say it. Barnaby had to know.

"Realized what?" Barnaby prompted.

_Here goes nothing…_ "The person I most wanted to make happy with my dancing was you. Before, during, and after that tango... The whole time I was dancing... I couldn't get you out of my head."

Now Kotetsu felt awkward, and he played the look-away game as Barnaby stared at him.

"And I—I guess it's rude when you're dancing with one person to think about someone else, but… it's true. I wanted to impress you, and make you happy."

Barnaby stared at his partner, astounded. "You were thinking of me?"

Kotetsu nodded. "Even if I wasn't dancing _with_ you, my dance was _for_ you." After a beat, he added, "So then, can we call it square for your birthday?"

"…I suppose," Barnaby managed to smile, the small, honest little half-smile Kotetsu liked so much, and he could swear he saw a blush on his partner's cheeks in the dim light. "But then, what will you ask for in return? I still approved of everyone stalking you across town."

"Hmm…" Asking Barnaby for anything? Wow, Kotetsu had a chance to call a really big favor on this one. He could slough off paperwork for a while, get a really special gift for Kaede's birthday, maybe even ask Barnaby to complement him in an interview, boost his popularity...

But just one look at Barnaby's expectant face instantly drove all of those thoughts away. Kotetsu smiled and held out his hand to Barnaby. "Dance with me again."

Barnaby stared at the outstretched hand, then returned Kotetsu's smile, and took it.

With no music but Kotetsu's intermittent humming, bits of gravel digging through the soles of their shoes, barely enough lamplight to see each other by, and basic, endlessly repetitive choreography, the pair danced on; together, content.

* * *

_Shall we dance?  
__On a bright cloud of music, shall we fly?  
__Shall we dance?  
__Shall we then say good-night and mean good-bye?  
__Or perchance…  
__When the last little star has left the sky  
__Shall we still be together with our arms around each other,  
__And shall you be my new romance?  
__On the clear understanding that this kind of thing can happen,  
__Shall we dance? Shall we dance? Shall we dance?_


End file.
